Sunday, March 15, 2009

Olive Garden Style "Chicken con Broccoli"


I have never known my husband to order anything other than Chicken con Broccoli at Olive Garden--it's his absolute favorite! Over the years, we've attempted to duplicate it at home and have tried "copy cat" after "copy cat" versions of recipes, without any luck. My husband decided last night to improvise a bit and it was by far, the BEST "imitation" recipe...it comes very close to tasting just like Olive Garden's! (Of course we didn't get the unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks!) This would be an excellent dish to serve for company!

Chicken con Broccoli (Olive Garden Copy Cat Recipe)

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (pounded to 1/2 inch thickness)
4 Tablespoons olive oil
16 oz dry orecchiette pasta
1 pint heavy whipping cream
4 Tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons minced garlic
4 teaspoons cornstarch
3 cups broccoli florets
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
4 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

*Spice Mixture*
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
2 teaspoons Mrs. Dash Garlic Herb seasoning
1 teaspoon Red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine ingredients from spice mixture. Rub onto the chicken breasts. Cook chicken in the olive oil until browned, set aside and keep warm.

Cook orecchiette pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until "almost" done. Drain, and return pasta to pot.

Stir butter or margarine, and garlic into a sauté pan. Cook until garlic caramelizes, then add the cream and the cornstarch on medium heat until it thickens to a sauce. Add broccoli and allow to simmer for 3-4 minutes, before adding pasta. Add additional salt, if necessary.

Remove from heat. Place pasta and broccoli on plate and top with a chicken breast.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Source: Marcus Guajardo

16 comments:

  1. Sounds really good... I can't wait to try it to compare to the other versions we've played with.

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  2. I bet this is delicious. It certainly looks so! I dont think I've ever had this at Olive Garden. I love the pasta underneath!

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  3. Looks so yummy! I am gonna have to give it a try

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  4. Wow..it will definitely be yummy..gonna try it this weekend.Thanks for sharing!

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  5. I had to link to this recipe...because it's one of my absolute FAVORITES! ;-)

    I gave you a "Lovely Blog Award" over on my blog if you want to claim it... :-)

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  6. I DON'T HAVE AN ITALIAN FOOD STORE AROUND MY HOUSE. DO YOU KNOW OF ANY GROCERY CHAINS THAT CARRY THIS TYPE OF PASTA?

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  7. This is so good!!!! I had previously tried a different recipe but this one is SO much better! Thank you!

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  8. While this is good, the Olive Garden version tastes like rosemary was sauted into the cream sauce and the chicken dredged in flour.

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  9. I tried this tonight and was pleasantly surprised! I do wish I would've made more sauce, but I'll remember that for next time. And I found the pasta at Harris Teeter! Thank you so much :)

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  10. I actually found the pasta at my local Shop N Save. It was made by Delallo. This is the only place and company I've found this pasta. It is not an easy find!

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  11. Since Olive Garden seems to be discontinuing this dish (it's my favorite too - the only thing I've ever ordered for YEARS), I'm anxious to try this recipe!

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  12. Kristi--It's been a little while since I originally made this, but I remember enjoying it! Olive Garden discontinued one of my favorite dishes, too--I'm now on the hunt to find a copycat recipe for that!!!

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  13. i made this last night taste good but wasn't able to find this pasta so i used bow tie tasted good. but i have a question should i have added flower to the spice mixture or add it straight to the chicken. i added it right to the chicken and it seemed heavy seasoned. they still serve this at olive garden by my house and i thought it had a floorer crust

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  14. how many servings is this

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  15. I apologize...just saw this comment asking how many servings for the recipe, as written! If I recall correctly, I believe it was more than enough for 3-4 people.

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  16. This is the only thing my husband ever gets from Olive Garden, too! So tonight he requested it for dinner and thats how I found your recipe, thank you, it was delicous!

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